Williston State Ordered To Stop Housing Foreign Workers At The School

The new chancellor of North Dakota's university system has ordered Williston State College to stop housing foreign workers at the school as part of a program meant to fill temporary jobs.

Businesses in the western North Dakota oil boom town have been relying on the foreign exchange students to fill jobs in the fast-food, hotel and other service industries.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Chancellor Hamid Shirvani said housing foreign workers at the college "raises legitimate safety and security concerns."

"Housing foreign workers was not intended when the Legislature authorized bonds or appropriated public funds to build, maintain and operate the facilities," Shirvani, who took over as chancellor in July, wrote in the letter to Ray Nadolny, the president of Williston State College.